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Key Points
1
The Process for Effective Time Management
2
Barriers to Time Management
3
SMART Goals
4
The POWER Model
TIME MANAGEMENT
In the Army, we speak of resources in terms of the threeM’s—men, money, and materials. To these three, we mustadd . However, there is a distinct difference betweentime and the three other resources. If we do not use ourmoney or materials today, they are available tomorrow.To a lesser degree, this is also true of men. It is not at all true of time, for time is a highly perishable commodity.An hour lost today is lost forever!
GEN Bruce C. Clarke
P  er  s  on al  D ev el   o pm en t T r  a c k 
Section
1
 
Introduction
To succeed as a leader, you must competently manage your resources—people,materials, and information. But perhaps the most precious resource you must manageis time. You can’t replace time once it’s gone.Time management can also be called “personal management,” since
you 
are theonly thing you can control. The time-management skills you develop as a Cadet andstudent will set a pattern for you as a future Army officer. That’s why you mustcultivate a process for effectively managing time
today 
. As this section points out, you will encounter significant barriers to effective timemanagement. But you can overcome those barriers by setting goals and usingsystematic techniques.
The Process for Effective Time Management
Time management is a system for getting things done as efficiently and productively aspossible.As you assume leadership responsibilities in the Army,your time will becomeeven more valuable and its management more complex.You will need to manage not just your own time,but also the time ofthose you lead.When you put an efficient time-management system into action,you become a more effective leader because your teammembers perceive the value you place on both your time and theirs.The respect youshow for their time will support everyone’s efforts to become more efficient as the unitworks toward meeting task deadlines and completing the mission schedule.But it all starts here in ROTC,where your college studies require significant time-management skills.Your success at cultivating good time-management skills depends on your ability to set aside enough time for each ofyour classes,sports,and other activities.Doing this efficiently requires that you:
1.
Recognize time wasters (black holes)
2.
Set goals that will reduce patterns ofwasted time
3.
Adopt a system like the POWER model.The POWERmodel,discussed later in this section,will move you toward your personal,professional,and career goals.
Barriers to Time Management
Have you ever heard ofa black hole in astronomy? It’s a point in space where a massiveobject pulls in all light near it.Nothing can escape.
Critical Thinking
 Why do you think good time-management skills in an officer foster a productivework ethic among Soldiers in the officer’s small Army unit? How does the value you place on time management translate into your team members wasting lesstime? Is there a trickle-down effect?
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Time Management
■
71
 
In your schedule,“black holes”are spaces oftime that eat into your productivity andprevent you from reaching your goals and the goals ofothers you work with.Black holesdevour productive time and consume your efficiency.The ability to identify black holes is the first and most important aspect ofgood timemanagement.To do this,you should conduct an informal inventory ofhow you use yourtime.Consider a typical week and,within that week,a typical day.Most people are surprisedat how much oftheir time is unfocused and unstructured—without a specific goal orpurpose.Two causes ofblack holes are
 procrastination
—putting things off—and
distracters
—things that take you away from your planned work or activities.One way to fight procrastination is to realize that it will only make things worse.AsGeorge H.Lorimer,editor ofthe old
Saturday Evening Post,
once put it,“Putting offaneasy thing makes it hard,and putting offa hard one makes it impossible.”Distracters areoften subtle.They might be talking on the phone with friends or relatives,losing track of time while Instant Messaging or playing video games,or helping other people on theirprojects.Or you may face an unexpected change in your work schedule.Learning to dealwith distracters—saying no when necessary;turning offyour cell phone,the IM,or thevideo game;negotiating your schedule with your supervisor;even finding a different spotto work or study away from distractions—builds the discipline that helps you stay on course.Trying to overcome these two sources ofblack holes in your life goes a long way towardimproving your use ofavailable time.Additionally,the better you get at completing workon schedule,the better you’ll get at scheduling time for recreation,hobbies,social activities,and other things you enjoy.
SMART Goals
Goal setting is a critical part ofmanaging your time.Ifyou don’t know where you are going,how can you possibly calculate how long it will take you to get there?
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SECTION 1
Your Calendar 
Create your ownsemester calendar that includes all classes, key assignments, fitness workouts, sports events,extracurricular activities,social events, and any other important times for the coming semester.Use this calendar todetermine how muchtime you still have openand to identify weeks (usually during midterms and finals)when you will need toplan and work ahead toavoid becoming overwhelmed.
The
SMART
Model
TABLE 1.1
S
pecificmake the goal concrete and clear 
M
easurabledecide how you will measure success in reaching the goal
A
chievablekeep goals reasonable—milestones are helpful
R
ealisticconsider other factors that may affect the goal
T
ime-boundmake yourself accountable for a specific date
Critical Thinking
Pick a goal you have set for yourself: Make enough money to buy a car; graduatewith honors; land a summer internship at the state capital; improve your foreignlanguage skills. Now turn it into a SMART goal using the model below. What did you learn about yourself and your goal?
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